The present invention relates to personal security devices and more particularly to a device for locking a camper shell of a truck from within the camper shell.
For many years pickup trucks have maintained a high degree of popularity due in large part to their versatility and utility for transporting a wide variety of personal items. In order to increase this inherent utility of pickup trucks, many owners have chosen to add camper shells to their trucks. Adding a camper shell to a truck greatly increases the utility of the truck by keeping stored items safe from the elements and safe from theft. Such a camper shell is also commonly used as a temporary shelter wherein an occupant can sleep or rest such as at a camping site or a highway rest stop.
FIG. 1, illustrates such a pickup truck, generally referred to as 10. The truck 10 includes a portion, generally referred to as a bed 12. Upon the bed 12 is a camper shell 14. With reference to FIG. 2, the aft portion of the truck 10 includes a tailgate 16 and the shell 14 includes a shell-gate 18 which may optionally have a window 19 therein. The shell-gate 18 is hingedly connected at its top 20 to the rest of the shell 14 by means of a piano hinge or some similar device. The shell gate also includes a pair of exterior handles 22 which can be used to latch the shell gate in a closed position or to unlatch it to open it.
With reference now to FIG. 3 a view of the inside of such a standard camper shell reveals a latch bar 24 which is operable in response to turning the handles 22 (FIG. 2) at the exterior of the shell 14. The latch bar 24 pivots in an arcuate fashion from a generally horizontal position to a generally vertical one. When the latch bar 24 is in the horizontal position it holds the shell gate in a closed position by abutting the door frame 26, defined by the back, outer edge of the shell 14. When the latch bar is moved to the vertical position it clears the edge of the camper shell, allowing the shell gate 18 to be swung open. A stiffener 28 in the form of a metallic extrusion extends along the inner edge of the door frame 26 to provide added stiffness to the shell 14. This stiffener 28 stops short of the bottom of the door frame.
With reference now to FIG. 4(a) the exterior handles 22 are connected with the latch bar 24 by means of a torsion bar 30 which extends through the shell gate 18 and is fixedly connected with both the exterior handle 22 and the latch bar 24. A key lock (not shown) is also generally provided and is operable only from outside the shell 14 by use of a keyhole located at the exterior end of the torsion bar 30. While this lock is not shown, such locks will be familiar to those skilled in the art. This lock is useful in protecting items stored therein from theft when the truck 10 is to be unattended. However, as mentioned, the lock is only operable from outside of the vehicle. If an occupant intends to sleep inside the camper shell, the camper shell cannot be locked from the inside. What""s more, even latching the shell gate 18 without locking it is difficult because the latch bar 24, not being designed as a handle, is generally flat and difficult to grasp. If an occupant wishes to lock the camper shell 14 to sleep therein, he or she must lock the shell gate 18 from the outside and then crawl through a small opening (not shown) between the cab of the truck and the front, interior of the shell. This is difficult at best and may even be impossible since not all trucks are equipped with such windows and the person may be too large to fit through the window. If the person succeeds in locking the camper shell 14 and the crawling through the small front window, he or she will be at risk, since quick egress in the case of a fire or some other emergency will not be possible. Therefore there remains a need for a device which will enable an operator to quickly and easily lock and unlock a camper shell from the inside. Such a device would preferably be available as an after market device which can be easily and inexpensively installed without the need for expensive tooling.
The present invention provides an apparatus for locking and unlocking a camper shell from the inside. The device can be purchased as an inexpensive after market part and easily and quickly installed without the need for expensive tooling. The device includes a handle having proximal ends and fashioned with a lateral bore at its proximal end for connecting with a torsion bar already existing on the latching mechanism of the camper shell. The distal end of the handle includes a cam, pivotally connected thereto, which can move between a position in which the cam is generally flush with the handle and a position in which the cam extends laterally from the handle. A cam lock is provided to engage the cam and hold it in one or more selected positions, the positions providing corresponding amounts of lateral extension from the handle.
In an aspect of the invention, the cam can be locked in one or more pre-selected positions. This can be accomplished, for example, by providing recesses in the cam, which align with a cam-lock pin which slides with a bore in the handle and is operable by a knob. When the cam is in a desired position, the pin can be moved into the recess in the cam, thereby locking the cam in position. Pulling on the knob releases the cam so it can be turned. When the knob is pulled and rotated approximately half a turn it remains disengaged from the cam so that the cam can be turned without having to keep the knob pulled out. Such locking can also be provided by a spring loaded ball bearing within a closed bore in the handle, the spring forces the bearing into a recess or detent in the cam causing it to lock in that position. The lock can be overcome by forcing the cam in to another position, overcoming the bias of the spring against the bearing and forcing the bearing out of the recess or detent in the cam.
In another aspect of the invention, the handle can be affixed to the torsion bar of the camper shell by providing set screws extending through threaded bores into the bore that receives the torsion bar. The set screws can contact and engage the torsion bar, so that the handle can apply a torque to the torsion bar. In another aspect of the invention, when the torsion bar has a non-circular cross section, for example square or keyed, the bore in the handle can be configured with a corresponding cross sectional shape. In this manner, when the handle is turned the interior surface of the bore can engage the exterior surface of the torsion bar to apply a torque thereto.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, a lock pin can be provided in place of the cam earlier described. In this embodiment the handle can be provide with a lateral bore, parallel with the bore that receives the torsion bar of the camper shell. A lock pin operable by a knob extends through this bore, the amount of extension being controlled by the knob. When extended, the lock pin engages a structural member of the pickup shell and prevents the handle from being raised.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the handle can be pivotally connected at its distal end with an elbow which can be manually bent to extend laterally from the handle and engage the structural member of the shell to prevent lifting the handle. This elbow can be biased in certain pre-selected positions as described above. These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions of the invention and a study of the several figures of the drawings.